Huntington Craft Beer Week continues with Black Sheep brunch

HUNTINGTON — Huntington Craft Beer Week, which culminates with the second annual sold-out Rails and Ales craft beer festival at Heritage Station on Saturday, Aug. 16, continues today with a beer brunch at Black Sheep Burrito and Brews that will start at 11 a.m. and run through about 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10.

This is not a ticketed event but space is limited. There will be live music from regionally-traveling Americana artist Tyler Childers, who is fresh off of playing the Buckle Up music festival in Cincinnati.

In addition to the regular menu and drink specials there will be two menu specials: Braised Texas Wild Boar Pork Belly Benedict with Cabin Creek farm raised egg, topped with Bacon Fat Hollandaise atop Skillet Fried Potatoes as well as Sauteed Gulf Shrimp and Grits with Morels, Scallion and Lardons over Cheese Grits.

There are no advanced tickets.

There is a set price of $25 for the specials only but that includes a flight of West Virginia craft brews. Those will be tapped at 1 p.m. (when alcohol can be served in West Virginia).

“We will be serving two special dishes and if you order the special you get a free flight of beer with beer from Wardensville, Elkins, Morgantown, and Parkersburg,” said one of the Black Sheep managers, Alex Durand.

Black Sheep is also selling tickets to a Wedneday, Aug. 13 beer match dinner that will feature communal seating around one table with an ample low of West Virginia-brewed, cask-conditioned ales paired with four special entrees created by Black Sheep chef Jeremiah Bowen.

Admission to the Craft Beer Dinner are $75 with members of the Greater Huntington Homebrewers Association getting a discount of $20.

That Cask Dinner, which will feature communal seating around one table, will feature West Virginia-brewed, cask-conditioned ales paired with four special entrees created by Black Sheep chef Jeremiah Bowen.

Smoked Brisket Sopacitas w/Beet-Horseradish and Pickled Onion paired with Charleston Brewing Company’s Wobbly, a British Bitter or British Pale Ale.

Order tickets by stopping by Black Sheep Burrito and Brews, located at 1555 3rd Ave., across from Marshall University. You can call 304-523-1555 or go online at www.blacksheepwv.com.

The cask dinner will feature beer served at real ale or cask temperatures (55 degrees instead of the normal 38 degrees which is the standard temp for draft beer lines.

Also at the Cask Dinner, guests will enjoy an informal beer talk by veteran homebrewers, Dave and Jane Zalewski, of Proctorville. Both are founding members of Greater Huntington Homebrewers Association.

While both have won many homebrew beer contest awards, Jane recently took home the Best of Show at the recent Ohio Brew Week in Athens, Ohio. This year's homebrew contest drew 312 entries from all over the region and many from the beer-rich cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus.

Zalewski's Vanilla Bean Russian Imperial Stout named "Midnight Vanilla" took home Best of Show honors as well as first place in the fruit beer category. She also took third place in specialty beers with her Midas Touch clone.

Zalewski is president of the Greater Huntington Homebrewers Association, which has been keeping things hopping so to speak since John Szarak founded it in 1992.

Read the Herald-Dispatch daily for updates on the Huntington Craft Beer Week events that run through Sunday, Aug. 17.